NPower California is a recipient of the Breaking Barriers to Employment program grant from the California Workforce Development Board. Through the Breaking Barriers program, NPower has served over 100 military veterans, veteran spouses, and young adults in Los Angeles County. In June, NPower graduated its first Breaking Barriers cohort from the NPower Fundamentals program, with 20+ students already placed in full-time tech jobs.
Just two weeks after her 17th birthday, Celeste wanted to push outside her comfort zone by becoming a mechanic in the U.S. Army Reserves. It was something she had never done before, but that didn’t stop her from successfully serving for six years. As she approached the end of her service, Celeste was working a series of jobs that did not align with what she had envisioned for her life. While working as a security guard for a hospital, a friendly conversation changed her life. Celeste had shared that she wanted to pursue a role in tech, but the education required was too expensive. The stranger introduced her to NPower and encouraged her to apply.
Celeste put in the hard work and time necessary to successfully complete the NPower program, enduring two-hour commutes and working around her class schedule. She applied the same courage and grit she had mustered years before when joining the Reserves.
“Sacrifice—It’s just a little bit of time, in the long run it will be better. Just because it doesn’t come easy, doesn’t mean that it’s not possible.”
After successfully completing the program, Celeste achieved her dream of working in robotics. She launched her tech career as a Robot Operator for the Everyday Robots Project at Virtusa, a Google Cloud Partner, and then as a Robot Wrangler with FS Studio, a leading product innovation and R&D technology group. Since joining NPower, Celeste has increased her earning potential by over 80%.
“I definitely learned a lot about networking, I had to work at it but now see it can open doors you don’t even realize are there.”
We are so proud of the trainees who have successfully completed our IT Support Specialist program. Congratulations to the NPower California Los Angeles Fall 2024 Class of Tech Professionals and Change-makers!
Keynote Speaker
Matthew Chebatoris
Keynote Speaker
Chris Webber
We are thrilled to announce that NPower California has been accepted as a registered apprenticeship sponsor by the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). By becoming a registered apprenticeship sponsor, NPower California may now offer state-recognized apprenticeship programs for in-demand tech roles. Specifically, NPower students that complete 350 hours of NPower training will be able to apply for Information Technology Generalist and Cyber Security Support Technician paid apprenticeship roles.
Across the US, our tech training initiatives and programs, including paid apprenticeships and internships, are supported and recognized by leading individuals and groups from public and private sectors and championed by nonprofit allies and advocates. Together, they understand that offering a variety of strategies to deserving, non-pedigreed individuals from lower income areas, including people of color, is a proven and effective pathway to helping them step into good paying jobs, increase their economic mobility, and build better lives for themselves and their families.
We are honored by this recognition and want to congratulate the NPower leaders and staff throughout California who work tirelessly every day to make a difference in the lives of so many deserving young people.
The Sharks Foundation (@SJSCommunity), the charitable arm of the San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) organization, and SAP (@SAP) are pleased to provide NPower (@npowerorg) with a $100,000 Community Assist Grant to support its Tech Fundamentals Program, which provides social support and job placement services to young adults and military veterans from underserved communities.
Additionally, to showcase the diversity of businesses in the Bay Area, SAP will share its Sharks partnership marketing rights with NPower throughout the remainder of February. As part of this unique benefit, NPower will be featured in posts on both the San Jose Sharks and SAP social media accounts, will have a video feature of the organization shown on the video display at SAP Center at San Jose, receive in-arena digital signage at SAP Center, and be featured in a Sharks Weekly email.
NPower is a national non-profit organization with a San Francisco Bay Area location in San Jose. NPower creates pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. The $100,000 Community Assist Grant from the Sharks Foundation and SAP will be used to support NPower’s Tech Fundamentals Program, a program that helps veterans and students earn industry-recognized certifications that enable them to secure middle-skills tech employment with the strong potential for income growth and career advancement.
The Tech Fundamentals Program is a proven training model that provides students with free, half-day tech skills training, professional development, social support, and lifetime access to an active and supportive alumni network. The 23-week program consists of:
NPower’s comprehensive model also recognizes barriers often faced by veterans and young adults. A full-time Social Support Manager meets weekly with each student/vet to strengthen their social-emotional and professional development competencies and connect them to resources through NPower’s network of social service agencies for wraparound support.
The San Jose and San Francisco Bay Area program operates two cohorts (spring and fall) each year – training, equipping, and graduating 150+ trainees annually to enter and diversify the tech workforce. As part of their social support services, students/vets receive wraparound support to ensure they have the basic needs (housing, food, childcare, internet, computer access, etc.) necessary to complete the program and earn industry-recognized certifications, allowing them to enter the tech workforce and transition from poverty to the middle class. NPower’s job placement services provide its students with no-cost professional development training, internships, apprenticeships, and access to their network of employer partners in the Bay Area.
“I’m excited about our relationship with NPower and proud to help empower them to grow by supporting their work in partnership with the San Jose Sharks. As NPower focuses on ‘Creating a new pipeline to the digital workforce’, and SAP focuses on welcoming skills-based intergenerational talent, I’m thrilled that SAP is able to support organizations building up future leaders who are as diverse as the population of the Bay Area,” said Margot Goodman, Head of SAP North America Diversity & Inclusion.
See more about the partnership in the video we made with the Sharks foundation
Equitable access to tech career pathways is urgently needed following affirmative action’s dismantlement, the decline of four-year college enrollment, and the growing demand for rapid reskilling as automation and artificial intelligence shift the future of work.
Based on extensive labor market demand analysis, the Kapor Foundation seeks to increase Black, Latine, and Native job placements in durable, emerging tech career paths such as cyber security and software engineering with an eye towards intersections with artificial intelligence.
In response to this, today, the Kapor Foundation’s Tech Pathways Initiative is announcing funding commitments across an innovative set of partner organizations advancing Black, Latino, Native, and other underrepresented talent across our focal ecosystems of Oakland, California, Atlanta, Georgia, and Detroit, Michigan.
A significant talent gap exists in the US cybersecurity job market with an estimated 750K roles unfilled and demand growing exponentially as systems become automated. The field’s median salary of $117,058 is largely earned among white males, with only 24% of cyber workers identifying as women, 9% as Black, and 4% as Latino Since entry-level cybersecurity roles are accessible to talent without a bachelor’s degree, alternative education programs are uniquely positioned to help quickly bridge this gap.
NPower creates free, accelerated pathways to digital careers for underserved young adults (ages 18–26) and military veterans. NPower and the Kapor Foundation will partner on a Cyber Career Accelerator that will upskill and elevate women of color in Oakland and Detroit through hands-on lab work, wraparound support, career coaching, mentoring, and job placement services. NPower programs have a proven 80% job placement rate into roles such as cybersecurity analyst, info security risk analyst, and network administrator.
Read more about the announcement from Kapor Center here
Benny joined the U.S. Navy shortly after high school to pursue a career in cryptology. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he terminated his contract to leave the tech field in the military. He considered his career options when he separated from the military. He had an interest in technology, having been in cryptology during his military service, but wasn’t sure where to start. He took a job as a barber and searched online for ways to acquire tech training when he came across a note about NPower. He applied and was accepted into NPower’s tech fundamentals program. He earned certifications, free of charge. He has nothing but great things to say about NPower.
“The instructors were the most helpful during my time in the program. The career development shaped me to become the savvy professional I strived to become.”
Shortly after finishing NPower’s free tech program, Benny landed a position in tech support at SpaceX.
